REVIEW: Long Exposures with the Fujifilm X-T1
One of the things I used to do a lot with the Nikon D800 was long exposures because it was so simple on the full frame format Nikon. When I announced I was moving completely to Fujifilm one of my friends commented that she would miss my dramatic long exposure landscape shots when I got the 'big gun' out to play. I have used the X-Pro1 and X100 for long exposure images but have tended to favour the big Nikon for this type of photography.
On Wednesday evening I made a conscious effort to get out and take some long exposure images of Barns Ness lighthouse and the sunset at Belhaven Bay using the new X-T1.
I had to buy an electronic cable release for the X-T1 because, unlike the X100 and X-Pro1, the shutter release button on the X-T1 doesn't have the screw in ability to take an old style cable release. I bought a compatible RR-90 remote release from Amazon which cost the grand sum of £9.99 and works perfectly in the USB socket on the camera.
The other reason for the long exposure test was to make sure that my X-T1 didn't have the dreaded light leakage problem when the side door was open. Fuji were quick to recognise the issue and offered a free repair to all X-T1 owners but I'm very happy to report that my X-T1 doesn't have this problem.
The X-T1 was fitted with the Fujinon 18mm f2 and a Lee 10x ND 'Big Stopper' + Lee 0.6 ND Grad filters. I have a series of step up rings that allow me to fit the 77mm adapter on the Lee filter system to my various Fujinon lenses.
The first shot was a 125s exposure of Barns Ness lighthouse which was converted to mono with Silver Efex Pro2.
And the second shot is a 30s exposure of the sunset at Belhaven Bay taken on the Fujinon 35mm f1.4 with the Lee 'Big Stopper' and Lee 0.6 ND Soft Grad.
PLUS POINT?: The X-T1 is just as capable of long exposures as the Nikon D800. When using the 'Bulb' setting the rear screen displays a counter (this is the same as the X100 and X-Pro1), which is brilliant compared to the Nikon, where I had to keep looking at my watch or set my mobile phone to countdown the time.
DOWNSIDES?: The only downside is the fact the X-T1 can only take RAW images at 200iso as its lowest setting (100iso if you only use jpeg) where as the D800 can go as low as 50iso in RAW. This allows longer exposures with the Nikon but it isn't a major problem for my style of photography.
CONCLUSION: I really thought I would miss the Nikon D800 and 17-35mm f2.8 lens for long exposures but with this test I finally put that particular issue to bed for good.
The more I use the X-T1 and X-Pro1 for my work the more I am realising I don't actually need the large Nikon, which is something I didn't think I would hear myself saying after 18 years with the more established Japanese brand.
Image 1 taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF18mm f2R lens
Image 3 taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF35mm f1.4R lens
Images 2 & 4 taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 + Fujinon XF14mm f2.8R lens
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On Wednesday evening I made a conscious effort to get out and take some long exposure images of Barns Ness lighthouse and the sunset at Belhaven Bay using the new X-T1.
I had to buy an electronic cable release for the X-T1 because, unlike the X100 and X-Pro1, the shutter release button on the X-T1 doesn't have the screw in ability to take an old style cable release. I bought a compatible RR-90 remote release from Amazon which cost the grand sum of £9.99 and works perfectly in the USB socket on the camera.
The other reason for the long exposure test was to make sure that my X-T1 didn't have the dreaded light leakage problem when the side door was open. Fuji were quick to recognise the issue and offered a free repair to all X-T1 owners but I'm very happy to report that my X-T1 doesn't have this problem.
The X-T1 was fitted with the Fujinon 18mm f2 and a Lee 10x ND 'Big Stopper' + Lee 0.6 ND Grad filters. I have a series of step up rings that allow me to fit the 77mm adapter on the Lee filter system to my various Fujinon lenses.
The first shot was a 125s exposure of Barns Ness lighthouse which was converted to mono with Silver Efex Pro2.
And the second shot is a 30s exposure of the sunset at Belhaven Bay taken on the Fujinon 35mm f1.4 with the Lee 'Big Stopper' and Lee 0.6 ND Soft Grad.
PLUS POINT?: The X-T1 is just as capable of long exposures as the Nikon D800. When using the 'Bulb' setting the rear screen displays a counter (this is the same as the X100 and X-Pro1), which is brilliant compared to the Nikon, where I had to keep looking at my watch or set my mobile phone to countdown the time.
DOWNSIDES?: The only downside is the fact the X-T1 can only take RAW images at 200iso as its lowest setting (100iso if you only use jpeg) where as the D800 can go as low as 50iso in RAW. This allows longer exposures with the Nikon but it isn't a major problem for my style of photography.
CONCLUSION: I really thought I would miss the Nikon D800 and 17-35mm f2.8 lens for long exposures but with this test I finally put that particular issue to bed for good.
The more I use the X-T1 and X-Pro1 for my work the more I am realising I don't actually need the large Nikon, which is something I didn't think I would hear myself saying after 18 years with the more established Japanese brand.
Image 1 taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF18mm f2R lens
Image 3 taken on a Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujinon XF35mm f1.4R lens
Images 2 & 4 taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 + Fujinon XF14mm f2.8R lens
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